<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Truths by Jestana</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22898875">Truths</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jestana/pseuds/Jestana'>Jestana</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>February Ficlet Challenge 2020 [25]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mulan (1998)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Don't copy to another site, Gen, genderfluid!mulan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 09:21:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>644</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22898875</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jestana/pseuds/Jestana</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Shang wakes up earlier than usual, Ping's still getting ready for the day.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>February Ficlet Challenge 2020 [25]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620979</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>63</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>February Ficlet Challenge 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Truths</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for February Ficlet Challenge 2020: Quantum Leap Year, the prompts were 'Roommates AU' or 'fake relationship/accidental marriage'.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ping froze when the bathroom door opened to admit his roommate, Shang. He stood there for a moment, taking in Ping's sports bra and the makeup scattered on the counter in front of him. A wry smile twisted his lips. "You know, the guys have been debating whether you're gay or not. I don't think any of them have considered that you're trans."</p><p>"No, I'm not trans." Ping shook his head, relieved that Shang wasn't making a big deal about it. "I'm genderfluid. I go by Ping when I present as a boy."</p><p>Shang stepped fully into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. "What about when you present as a girl?"</p><p>"Mulan," he whispered, very aware of how closely they stood in the cramped bathroom.</p><p>Shang smiled fondly. "That's a pretty name." He cleared his throat the next moment. "So, what are you doing here?"</p><p>"I'm <i>trying</i> to do my makeup so I look more masculine, but I still need to follow the tutorial I found online and it's a video," Ping explained gesturing at the mess he'd made with his makeup.</p><p>Humming thoughtfully, Shang picked through the makeup. "Why weren't you watching it, then?"</p><p>"I thought you were asleep," Ping explained, not sure what to make of Shang's questions.</p><p>Nodding, Shang turned to Ping. "Would you like some help with your makeup?"</p><p>"You mean <i>you'll</i> help <i>me</i>?" Ping stares at Shang incredulously. "With my makeup?"</p><p>Laughing, Shang nodded again. "Yep. Hop up on the counter and I'll show you."</p><p>"All right." Figuring he didn't have anything to lose, Ping climbed onto the counter.</p><p>Shang set to work, his expression focused. "Why are you presenting as Ping at school?"</p><p>"Well, I'm in college now and I was trying to figure out if I was trans." Ping held still, both hands curled around the edge of the counter. "Turns out I don't like being a boy <i>all</i> the time."</p><p>Shang nodded, his movements deft and sure as he added shading along Ping's jaw. "Well, that's one way to figure it out."</p><p>"What about you? How do you know about makeup?" Ping couldn't resist asking. Shang clearly knew what he was doing.</p><p>His jaw tightened for a moment and Ping saw anger flash in his eyes. His hands were still gentle. "I've mentioned my cousin, yes? That lives with my family?"</p><p>"Yes, you have." Since Shang had paused to change which makeup he was using, Ping nodded. "Xiang Jie, right?"</p><p>Sighing, Shang took a moment to run his fingers through his hair. "Yeah. Her parents kicked her out because she's trans."</p><p>"That's horrible." Ping tightened his grip on the counter at the thought of his parents doing that to <i>him</i>. "I'm glad your parents took her in, though."</p><p>Shang smiled fondly, going back to work. "I was the first person Jie told. We practiced makeup techniques on each other. There. What do you think?"</p><p>Twisting around to look at his reflection, Ping couldn't help staring. It was better than his own efforts, despite trying so hard to figure it out. He turned back to Shang with a big smile. "It's amazing. Thank you so much, Shang."</p><p>"Glad I could help." Shang grinned back. "I can teach you if you like? Sometimes, it's easier to learn directly from someone."</p><p>Ping nodded shyly. "I'd like that."</p><p>"Good." Shang stepped back towards the door. "For now, I'll let you finish getting dressed."</p><p>Before he could step out of the bathroom, Ping caught his arm. "Shang." He hesitated, not sure what he wanted to say. Finally, he just sighed and stretched up to kiss him lightly on the lips. "Thanks again."</p><p>"Of course." Smiling, Shang leaned down to kiss Ping's cheek, and then slipped out.</p><p>Ping leaned back against the door with a silly grin on his face. <i>I think this is going to work out after all.</i></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Someone suggested genderfluid!Mulan and I fell in love with it. So this is my effort to write it without making it overly dramatic.</p><p>Shang's cousin is my idea and the meaning of a lot of Chinese names depends on the characters used to write them. So, in my head, Huang started using a different character that happens to only be feminine  to write her name, which means 'phoenix'. The only meaning for Jie that I saw was 'heroic, outstanding', so in my head, Shang started calling her that when she moved in with his family and it became the family name for her. By the time she gets old enough to legally change her name, she changes the character for her first name to the one for 'phoenix' and added Jie. This is all based on my own research. I apologize to anyone who knows Chinese if I've screwed this up entirely.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>